


plus one

by superheroau



Category: Red Velvet (K-pop Band)
Genre: F/F, Fluff, OT3, baby steps everyone baby steps!, it seems i've posted the first team rocket fic ever, now come and join me
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:47:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,347
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25011877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/superheroau/pseuds/superheroau
Summary: seulgi and seungwan consider something- and someone- new.
Relationships: Kang Seulgi/Son Seungwan | Wendy, Park Sooyoung | Joy/Son Seungwan | Wendy/Kang Seulgi
Comments: 3
Kudos: 76





	plus one

**Author's Note:**

> guess who's back! here's a drabble to celebrate 100 followers on twitter. i hope it lives up to the lovely prompt: jowenseul, wenseul being together and the two of them falling for joy (by anonymous)  
> [ [crossposted on AFF](https://www.asianfanfics.com/story/view/1450460/) ]

kang seulgi is very serious about the fact that she has the perfect girlfriend. damn near the perfect relationship too. maybe most people would think it a bold claim, and stay hesitant to label things that way for certain, but she doesn’t see any reason not to.

because really, what could be better than what the two of them have got? best friends since middle school, with excitingly confusing crushes on each other to match, and going smooth and steady from their soft confessions in their final year of high school all the way until now. 

in fact, if she stops to think about it, it’s quite impressive. she’s already spent half her life loving, and being loved by, son seungwan. and it’s only going to keep going from there. 

now _that_ is a milestone to be real proud of. to shout from the rooftops to anybody who’ll listen.

“i can never get over how you’re still going, like, five or six years strong,” sooyoung utters, cowed in respectful and slightly tipsy awe. “wow. that’s so cool.”

seungwan laughs as she raises her cup up to her lips. “i guess ‘cool’ is one way of putting it.”

“she’s amazed because it’s hard to find stuff that lasts nowadays,” comes a wry translation, courtesy of one oh hayoung, who’s earned a seat at their small table as one of sooyoung’s mature same-age friends. “i think anyone would be.”

the performing arts department mixer seems to be especially busy tonight. seulgi loves getting to play the part of cool recent graduate in front of first-years, and also getting to help them out with friendly advice, of course, but it’s hit that time of night where she just wants to nurse what’s left of her drink for a little before going home.

“we don’t like thinking about it like that,” she chimes in, a smile pulling at her lips as seungwan leans into her with a soft sound of agreement. “it’s not some kind of chore to keep up. or something we _have_ to keep tabs on all the time. except anniversaries, though,” she allows. “i don’t even know what wan would do if i forgot our anniversary.”

“good thing you haven’t yet,” seungwan sighs with sarcastic airiness. “because i don’t think you’d like what i’ve planned in case of _that_ emergency _._ ”

seulgi chortles, feels her cheeks warm at the giggles that come from the rest of their little table. 

then she looks up, and happens to meets sooyoung’s eyes.

sooyoung can get this sort of _adoring_ look on her face, when she’s in a particularly good mood. sometimes even when she’s on her own with nobody but seulgi and seungwan, despite the whole “dating for years” thing seemingly standing in her way. it’s a disarming thing to face directly, all softly attentive eyes and gentle, ever so slightly pouty lips. it makes her look very cute, though.

if you want to be a little more dramatic, it makes her look like she’s in love with you.

seulgi settles an arm around seungwan’s shoulders, rubs at her girlfriend’s arm absently with the pad of her thumb. and imagines, for an indulgent second, the idea of park sooyoung being in love with her.

much to her alarm, something she’s been trying to ignore the existence of stirs in her chest at the thought. a weak but persistently warm feeling, lodged right up against her heart.

  
  


pinpointing where it all started is difficult. it’s been difficult for a while now.

after much deliberating, seulgi’s come to the conclusion that she should have never gone with seungwan to their department’s annual vocal showcase. that was the _big day_ , as she’s come to think of it. they might have attended the event in the years before without any issues, sure, even participated themselves back when they had first started out at university, but the second that first-year park sooyoung walked shyly up to the mic… 

in seulgi’s defense, that honeyed voice of hers would have floored just about anyone with working ears. seungwan certainly hadn’t been immune to it, if the pleasantly shocked look on her face was any indication.

that was a good couple of years ago, though. before sooyoung entered their lives without warning, boldly asking if they’d be up for lunch in a few days’ time to “give a new girl some tips” when they sought her out to compliment her performance. before she seemingly made a home for herself there, snugly close to them, and decided she wasn’t leaving anytime soon.

since they met, she’s been blooming into a whirlwind of a girl, sweeping up everyone in her path with sass and melodic laughter and, if you’re lucky enough to catch it, a hilarious and biting sense of humor. she loves singing, loves performing, and loves being shown a good time off the stage even more.

(sometimes, she can also be a bit of a brat. but seulgi has already resigned herself to the fact that even _that_ has managed to become endearing).

now, seulgi loves seungwan. this isn’t even a question. seungwan is her best friend for life. her other half. they have each other in a very special way, and she would never hurt her, or go behind her back with anyone else. ever. 

park sooyoung is just so damn _cute._

what makes things even stranger is, seulgi is certain she isn’t the only one who’s noticed. 

she’s seen seungwan’s countless blushes when sooyoung mimes harmless, safe flirtation with either of them, the way she won’t hesitate to welcome sooyoung into their space whenever she’s around them- which happens to be, like, a lot. seriously. sooyoung is practically stuck in their orbit, to the point that the three of them have endured entirely too many third wheel jokes in their time as friends.

seulgi wishes she had a _correct_ solution, a magic band-aid to fix things. because either she’s cheating on her soulmate, like, emotionally, or said soulmate has fluttery feelings for someone who isn’t her. but then seulgi also likes the someone in question a little too much? the situation is… complicated. she isn’t used to that.

this all feels very disorienting, to say the least. seungwan’s sudden “ _can we talk?_ ” one day doesn’t make things feel any less concerning, but seulgi still isn’t too shocked when the topic is-

“sooyoung,” they both utter at the same time, and then freeze. stare at each other with the shared fear of criminals caught in the act.

“you first?” seulgi offers, after seconds of silence so thick she can practically feel it settling on her skin.

“a-ah, yeah. right. should have known we’d both be on the same page.” seungwan clears her throat. “i’ve been thinking a lot of how i should say this, but it’s probably going to sound weird no matter what, so. just bear with me, okay?”

she sounds like she’s trying to skirt around sounding too accusatory, which- oh, no. maybe seulgi has, against all the odds, misread this situation. and seungwan’s well-known soft spot for sweet girls seeking helpful unnie figures.

on the inside, she wilts with nervous anticipation. she should have expected nothing less from her girlfriend, always so in tune with her every thought, her every idle impulse, even before they started dating. they’ve known each other since they were kids. it would have been nothing for seungwan to catch on to her persistent little crush, even if she didn’t share the same pesky feelings.

facing the music is the only thing she can do now-

“i like her. sooyoung.” 

huh?

“huh?” seulgi says dumbly, her thoughts for once coming out of her mouth exactly how they formed in her head.

“i think it might be kind of serious, actually, and i’m sure you already caught on some, but i just don’t know if… what?”

seungwan’s frown deepens.

“what is it? don’t look at me like that, can i just… explain...”

her voice trails off into quiet uncertainty at the complete lack of reaction she’s faced with.

and then they’re back to staring again.

“but- but i was going to tell you that _i_ like her,” seulgi finally says. “and hope that you wouldn’t be really, really mad.”

the look they share feels almost tangible now. like it’s physically locking the two of them in place, refusing to release them until they come to terms with their reality. their new, _weird_ reality.

“why are you always worried i’m going to be mad at you?” seungwan finally sighs. the stillness breaks as she tosses her head in dramatic but familiar exasperation. “i can never stay mad unless it’s super serious. or you set the smoke alarm off in the kitchen again, or something.”

“so getting crushes on other women isn’t serious?” seulgi playfully narrows her eyes at her girlfriend, though even their usual banter can’t get rid of the abject, almost pathetic level of relief in her voice at miraculously not being alone in this. “seungwan-ah. i didn’t think we were in that kind of relationship.”

“when we both catch feelings like idiots, it’s allowed,” seungwan corrects her. “don’t even think about running off anywhere else, kang seulgi.”

“heh, you’re funny.” seulgi grins sheepishly. “c’mon. you know i won’t.”

“hmph.”

“what, um.” seulgi clears her throat in the hopes that they can move on. “what do you like about her?”

“you first?” seungwan offers. her tone is bright with mirth, and seulgi lets out a _hmph_ of her own at the tables being cheerfully turned on her. 

“fine, then,” she huffs. “i’ll start. i’d say i really, really like…”

“uh huh.”

“... her smile.”

“oh, _seulgi-yaaahh_ ,” seungwan groans, a look of mock pain crossing her face at seulgi’s words. “how did you let it get this bad without telling me?”

“am i supposed to actually try to explain?”

“no- i just mean, um.”

seungwan sighs. shakes her head with a smile that’s reassuringly affectionate.

“gosh, seulgi,” she tuts. “you’re even starting to sound like _me._ ”

  
  


they end up talking about it. not all at once, but gradually- over a few days, with the subject continuing to pop up as those days grow into weeks. clearing the air as much as they can. afterwards, it becomes a lot less scary, just as most things usually do after you’ve talked about them, and a lot more, well… 

fun.

after all, having a crush is one thing. _sharing_ a crush is another thing entirely. it’s new. it’s exciting.

besides, it’s with seungwan. that certainly doesn’t hurt.

seungwan also happens to helping out with sooyoung’s student musical production right now, which means there’s plenty of stories and cute pictures of seulgi’s favorite girls to go around. there’s even plenty of room for _both_ of them to cozy up to sooyoung even more, if seulgi manages to join them when they’re heading back from rehearsals. because of course sooyoung’s building happens to be just down the street from theirs. 

and, of _course_ , seungwan insists on guiding her home whenever possible like her 160 centimeter knight in shining armor.

as much as seulgi would love to always tag along, she’s kind of got her own thing going on with her dance program most days. emotional support is still something she excels at, though, so she keeps that up instead, in between sleeping off her soreness from intense sessions at the studio.

she’s just started sinking into her usual early evening nap when knocking erupts at the entrance to her and seungwan’s shared apartment. 

the frantic rapping against the door doesn’t stop as seulgi rolls herself out of bed, rubbing at her eyes as she tries to remember if they’ve got any packages due to arrive soon. the last person she expects to be greeted with is sooyoung, whose feathers seem uncharacteristically ruffled as she skitters past seulgi and into what passes as their place’s living room.

“what’s going on,” seulgi says uncertainly, glancing down at herself and trying not to smack herself as she realizes she’s wearing nothing but a worn old tank top and extremely short shorts. 

(it’s been way too hot lately. what else can she say?)

“sooyoung- ”

“seungwan unnie.” sooyoung’s voice is very small, her eyes fixed with laserlike focus on one of seulgi’s mostly bare shoulders. “i kissed her.”

ah.

so that’s what’s going on.

well, it’s not the worst possible thing. seulgi had been trying to steel herself for a family tragedy. or some other intensely taxing problem she’d have to be on best-friend duties for.

dramatic though this may be, at least it’s something she’s been anticipating.

she still feels her brows knit together in displeasure, though, because seungwan had _promised_ her that whenever this happened, they’d do it with all three of them together. no miscommunications. but sooyoung only seems to take the look as another sign of her wrongdoing, crumpling in on herself a little further.

“i’m sorry! i wanted to be honest about it. i understand if you don’t want to see me around anymore...”

“what happened?” seulgi presses, before things can get too out of hand. sooyoung eyes her with an expression approaching terror on her face. 

“she was just walking me back after our rehearsals. and, um, we were talking.”

“talking,” seulgi repeats thoughtfully. “i see.”

“and then- then we were standing in front of my building, and she… looked really nice? i don’t know! ugh, i don’t know, it just _happened._ and i didn’t know what to do, but i thought you might be here, so i ran over. maybe it was a stupid idea. you don’t hate me yet, do you?”

sooyoung’s started bouncing now. like when your leg starts bouncing from nerves as you sit at your desk, except she’s standing on both feet, so the effect is very odd indeed. she looks quite nervous, probably because she thinks she's just destroyed a longtime friendship and even longer relationship, but seulgi isn’t sure how to get her to stop that. or how to help her understand that even as they speak, things are falling into place just how they should be.

distantly, some part of seulgi’s mind registers a soft but familiar noise. footsteps thumping up the stairwell that opens up to their floor.

someone’s certainly in a hurry.

“look,” sooyoung continues obliviously. her bouncing intensifies. “i’ve been worrying, for a while, that i’ve been overstepping with you guys. or,” she continues, hand coming up to run through her hair in agitation, “like maybe i’ve been homewrecking, even if i never actually did anything, all i had were some weird thoughts, you know, but now i really _have_ done something- ”

her panicked words are cut off by someone trying to smash the apartment’s door keypad to pieces. or at least, that’s what the aggressive beeping and mashing of the wrong buttons sounds like.

seulgi is quite relieved to see a wheezing seungwan on the other side of the door when it finally swings open. sooyoung doesn’t turn to look herself, but something about the look on her face tells seulgi that she knows exactly who’s joined them. 

“so you _were_ here,” seungwan manages, in between gasping breaths. “thank god. my stamina _sucks._ maybe i’ll take you up on that whole pilates thing, huh?”

sooyoung doesn’t smile. over the girl’s shoulder, seulgi fixes seungwan with her best pleading, _help-me-out_ gaze.

“sooyoungie thinks she’s breaking us up,” she says plainly. sooyoung lets out a distressed squeak as seungwan comes over to join them, the three of them now occupying the same small bubble of space.

“you are doing no such thing,” seungwan scolds, setting a heavy hand on sooyoung’s shoulder for support as the last of her huffing and puffing starts to fade. “don’t go getting the wrong idea.”

“so you’re not mad, then?” sooyoung’s head swings around to stare at the two of them in equal measure. “neither of you are mad? even though i totally fucked up, and was super inappropriate?”

seulgi sniffs disapprovingly. “who said any of that? i don’t think we did.” 

“the kissing is very much not a problem. we don’t need to talk about the kissing,” seungwan insists. “it was very nice.”

“sorry, this is...” sooyoung blinks. with those big, soulful eyes of hers. “this is just a lot for me.”

“sooyoung-ah,” seungwan soothes. “how about you just answer a couple questions very honestly?”

“okay,” sooyoung says faintly.

“good. there’s no right or wrong here, remember. we just want to know what you think. so- ”

seungwan inhales. she’s evidently prepared to say a whole lot, because being helpfully talkative is just part of her nature, but seulgi still shoots her a warning glance just before she gets started. sooyoung’s overwhelmed apprehension as she catches the look is quite noticeable to both of them, and- this is kind of embarrassing. they’re all adults here. 

they should be able to work this out without _stumbling_ all over each other like this.

“i like you,” sooyoung says tentatively, as if she’s worried the words will produce some drastic and horrible effect. her eyes flit back and forth between them again. “both... of you? is that weird?”

“for what it’s worth, it isn’t. and that kind of dawned on me when you kissed me like that.” seungwan grins. “i thought you kissed like someone _really_ invested.”

the remark seems to be a direct hit to sooyoung’s occasionally rather fragile ego. “could say the same for you,” comes a stung retort, her lips twisting into a familiar pout at being caught acting a little too soft.

“hey, hey. that’s because i am, i won’t deny that. but you’re _invested_ in seulgi too, right?” seungwan waves a hand in seulgi’s direction. “look at our dear, sweet seulgi right here. you want to kiss her stupid handsome face, don’t you?”

seulgi frowns at that.

“hold on- ”

“she’s not stupid,” sooyoung objects at the same time, the words almost automatic. she goes quiet as the question sinks in, though, and in a few seconds, her tense features go slack with… acceptance. 

like she’s finally embracing her fate.

“i do, though,” she admits shyly. “maybe you’re right.”

seulgi feels a thrill ripple through her at the confirmation, along with a hint of affectionate pride at how the quiver in sooyoung’s voice has now shrunken to almost nothing. there’s the park sooyoung they know making a return.

“great, then,” seungwan concludes, sounding pleased her little chat worked out. “you see? all three of us, we’re actually of the same mind.”

“i’ve been thinking about you a lot,” seulgi adds, hesitant. “ _we’ve_ been thinking about you, talking about you. and obviously we don’t know how this works, so everything’s a little awkward, but- ” 

she flounders for a moment. trust the right words to elude her right when she really needs them.

“let’s say we don’t want you to be worried,” seungwan supplies, picking up instantly on seulgi’s train of thought. “about going too far, or anything like that, because you’re not. i think…” 

she shifts from foot to foot. glances up at seulgi as she nibbles uncertainly at her lower lip. 

this is it, right? the reason they’ve been standing in the middle of this room like fools this entire time. 

their moment of truth. 

“well,” seungwan concludes, voice hopeful, “i think we’ve wanted you to _overstep_ for a while now.”

seulgi can’t help but beam at the dumbstruck look that immediately dawns on sooyoung’s pretty face. like she’s now experiencing what seulgi and seungwan feel all the time, whenever they’re with her. it doesn’t need any more words to accompany it, or for the meaning of it to be understood.

but there’s still something that’s been left unaddressed.

“i can’t believe you guys left me out of the kissing,” seulgi utters, with maximum disappointment. “i hope you’ll make it up to me somehow.”

to be honest, she didn’t actually mean to pressure anyone into anything. seulgi knows that despite how much she might itch for it, she’s perfectly fine waiting for more… exciting things. everything can go at whatever pace they’re all comfortable with. 

but like the sweet, affectionate _girlfriend_ that she now is, sooyoung doesn’t even hesitate before grabbing a hold of her face to make it up to her on the spot.

  
  


as much as one might expect big change from a new relationship, things aren’t so different.

sooyoung is definitely around the house a lot more. hanging around the place with a firm hold on one or both of them, the faint scent of her lingering in small and intimate ways, on pillowcases or random jackets or shirts they pretend not to notice her stealing. they’ll be asking her to bring over a toothbrush sometime very soon.

but she’s just… her. the same fiery but lovable girl they both managed to fall for, somehow. and they’re still them. seulgi doesn’t feel any worrying shifts, or the stirrings of jealousy. any peep of insecurity doesn’t last long against the not one, but two doting presences she’s lucked out enough to have.

meanwhile, seungwan still gives and gives and gives, just like she always does. yet it doesn’t feel like she’s stretching herself too thin. there is no reluctance to the way she’ll drag her fingers gently through sooyoung’s hair as their third dozes off during drama marathons, head resting in seungwan’s lap, and no strain hidden under the surface whenever she sinks into seulgi’s arms, warm and familiar and just the same. 

if there was any of that hanging around her, seulgi would know. would feel it like a tug right on her own heartstrings, because what’s seungwan’s tends to be hers too, and that includes her troubles- even if neither of them quite mean for it to happen.

of course, they were all a little nervous at first. two’s company, three’s a crowd, and all. but opening your heart to someone isn’t rocket science. it isn’t complicated unless you make it that way, and sooyoung takes relationships like she takes everything else: straight to the point, without any pretenses. sometimes they run into growing pains, but in the end, all of that is always for the best.

easy. that’s what she is, in a word. safe and without risk, seamlessly fitting into what they have, because really, she was kind of part of it all along. perhaps some people would consider that ease something worth worrying about.

what seulgi would tell those people is, _you guys don’t know the first thing about love._

“seulgi unnie,” says a familiar voice in her ear. seulgi grumbles, tries rolling around to escape some of the heat clinging to her skin, only to squash right up against another body with a quiet _oof._

“wha,” she mumbles, letting her face sink against what she’s now sure is sooyoung’s shoulder. everything feels a little too warm. there’s a barely-there feeling of sweat starting to form against the back of her sleep shirt, and her hair feels like a mess even without a mirror to critique it with.

in other words, a pretty typical summer morning.

as they’ve quickly learned, you can’t fit three in a bed meant for two without a little suffering. but sooyoung loves being with them at all times of the day, and they’re awful at denying her much of anything, so it’s just a matter of getting used to it, in the end.

“i’ve got to go out,” sooyoung whispers. “but you’re on my arm.”

“it’s the _weekend_ ,” seulgi complains, reluctantly prying her eyes open to level sooyoung with an accusatory look. “why do you have to go out on a saturday morning?”

before sooyoung can answer that it’s for the little brunch get-together with her friends all three of them have been fully aware of for days now, another arm flings itself carelessly over her waist.

“you can stay in, can’t you?” seungwan pouts from the other side of the bed, and as hard as sooyoung’s pout is to endure, seungwan’s has lately somehow managed to be _worse._

they both peer over at her for a second. seulgi tries and fails to hold back her amusement at the sight of a messy-haired seungwan trying to look cute, batting her lashes from under her dark fringe. sooyoung is clearly stuck for a few seconds between her enthusiasm for punctuality and her equally present enthusiasm for lazing around with her two ( _two!_ ) girlfriends.

“i can hang around a little,” she finally allows, remaining stoic even as seungwan’s puppy dog eyes are instantly replaced by a satisfied smile. “but i won’t let myself be late, you know.”

“yeah,” seungwan sighs upon her victory, relaxing back into bed. “we know.”

seulgi shifts away for a moment. lets sooyoung pull her arm out from under her, and rolls her eyes at the dramatic hiss that comes as the circulation starts flowing back into sooyoung’s hand.

“need me to kiss it better?” she offers jokingly. sooyoung tsks as she continues to give her hand a vigorous shaking, fingers twitching through the pins and needles.

“i’ll manage.”

“don’t sulk." seulgi tugs with playful insistence at the bottom of sooyoung’s shirt. “you totally love it, anyway.”

“i love you too,” sooyoung drawls. the words sound casual, unimportant even, but seulgi’s cheeks flare annoyingly pink anyway, and she ducks her head to hide her face in her pillow.

“right,” she says, voice muffled. “off you go to brunch then.”

“mixed signals, unnie. mixed signals. should i stay or should i go?” sooyoung leans over to nose at her affectionately. seulgi can hear seungwan letting out a not-so-subtle snort at the sight of her flustered and shy. “sometimes i can’t figure out which one of you i should listen to.”

“just be here a little longer.” seulgi lets out a huffing laugh of her own, even as the warmth in her grows and grows at the feeling of all this. at the knowledge that it’s all hers to live with, and they’re both all hers to love. “until we all start sweating.”

“five more minutes?” sooyoung teases.

“five more minutes.”

**Author's Note:**

> find and follow me here! send me comments, feedback, anything you'd like:  
> [ [twitter](https://twitter.com/superheroau_twt) | [curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/superheroau) ]


End file.
